Have you ever struggled deciding what perks to bring into a match? With 116 survivor perks to choose from, as of January 2023, it can be difficult to develop a strong build to get the most out of your matches. We have compiled our top 5 best survivor builds in Dead by Daylight which isn’t just the meta. Try your hand at running some of these fun and strong builds, and create your own combination of perks to get the edge on the killer.
The key to survival is bringing the right combination of items and perks, which can greatly enhance a survivor’s ability to outsmart the killer and escape. Furthermore, building a good game sense by practicing lots will help you to consistently escape, regardless of perks. In this article, we will highlight the top 5 survivor builds that players should consider when playing Dead by Daylight. These builds have been tried and tested by us and the wider community, and have proven to be effective and fun in helping survivors to survive and escape.
The Speed Build
This build is for the W-key gamers: hold forward and go fast! In general, speed builds are extremely useful for that burst of speed you need to reach your next objective. Survivors who want to have a more offensive playstyle can also benefit from this build within chase, where this combination of perks can give you a great advantage over the killer in reaching new loops and areas of the map.
Sprint Burst
Meg’s Perk Sprint Burst is an exhaustion perk that grants you a major speed boost at 150% of your normal running speed for 3 seconds. This is a great perk for those sticky situations when you need to quickly evade the killer and reposition yourself at a better pallet or loop. Once you’ve used this perk, you’ll be affected by the exhaustion status effect which means you can’t use your Sprint Burst again until you’re no longer exhausted. This is where the next perk comes in very handy.
Vigil
Sprint Burst and Vigil are a fantastic combination of perks. Quentin’s perk Vigil helps you to regenerate your Sprint Burst faster, by helping you recover from status effects such as exhaustion up to 30% faster. It also applies to other survivors within an 8-meter radius, which means that multiple survivors can get the effects of your perk when you are on a generator together for example.
Self-Aware
Not only does this build help you run fast, but also walk fast! Since Sprint Burst activates whenever you run, you need to make sure to time it properly. With Self-Aware, it makes walking faster so that you don’t have to waste your Sprint Burst whilst traversing the map and lets you see your own scratch marks too. Combined with Vigil, this allows you to hopefully regain Sprint Burst mid-chase, which gives this build the affectionate title of the ‘Infinite Sprint Burst Build’. Luckily for you, Self-Aware is available to all players in the bloodweb.
Adrenaline
When the last generator is completed, Meg’s perk Adrenaline heals you a health state and gives you 5 seconds of running at 150% speed which will give you that extra push in the final stretch of the match. This could also be replaced by Hope, to give yourself 7% haste permanently once the last generator is completed.
Overall, this build is simple: go as fast as possible! It’s important to keep in mind that relying solely on these speed perks can leave survivors vulnerable in other areas, such as healing or repairing generators, so consider weighing up what to prioritize to get the most well-rounded build for your personal play style.
The Second Chance Build
Are you tired of being tunneled right after you get unhooked? This build is designed to give you an overall fighting chance even before you’ve been hooked and are actively being chased by the killer. This can be a good choice for players who are new to the game or who are looking for a more defensive playstyle because it gives you multiple chances to escape the killer and can prevent tunneling.
Dead Hard
David’s perk Dead Hard is one of the best exhaustion perks in Dead by Daylight and by far the most played survivor perk. It’s a vital tool to avoid getting downed when you are injured but requires precise timing. If pulled off correctly, you can gain enough distance from the killer to reach a safe pallet or window and extend the chase. Just remember that you have to mend if the killer hits you once you use Dead Hard.
Unbreakable
Bill’s perk Unbreakable allows you to recover from the dying state by yourself without needing help from the other survivors. This is great if the killer leaves you on the ground for an extended amount of time. However, this perk is very situational unlike Dead Hard for example: try going down in a pallet to make the killer hesitant of picking you up.
Decisive Strike
Laurie’s perk Decisive Strike works by stunning the killer when they pick you up from the dying state within up to 60 seconds of being unhooked by hitting a great skill check. This is especially useful if the killer is trying to tunnel you out of the match, or if another player unhooks you right in front of the killer. Unfortunately, Decisive Strike is now deactivated once the last generator is completed, so make sure to have another escape route in mind if necessary.
Off The Record
Zarina’s perk Off The Record gives you the endurance status effect for up to 80 seconds after being unhooked, similar to Borrowed Time. Whilst you can’t do generators or heal other survivors within that time, it is another great way to avoid getting hooked immediately after being rescued. It also prevents the killer from seeing your aura and hearing grunts of pain during this time, meaning that escaping the chase is much easier.
Overall, the combination of these perks ought to give plenty of chances so that not all hope is lost when facing a strong killer. All of these perks are strong on their own and are used in some of the best survivor builds (especially Dead Hard).
The Gen-Rushing Build
The gen-rushing playstyle is typically where the survivors focus on repairing generators as quickly as possible, rather than trying to heal or save survivors and take chase from the killer. This build is popular among players who value speed and efficiency. By repairing generators quickly, you can increase the chance of escape by decreasing the amount of time the killer has to work with before the exit gates are powered. This is particularly strong against killers with long set-up times and slow movement speeds like the Trapper and the Hag.
Hyperfocus
Rebecca’s perk Hyperfocus allows you to complete generators at a remarkable speed. You gain a token each time you hit a great skill check, up to 6 tokens. With each token that you gain, the speed and frequency of skill checks increase. Furthermore, the bonus progression of hitting a skill check toward generator progress is increased by up to 30% for each token. Be aware that you’ll lose all tokens when hitting a good skill check, missing a skill check, or leaving the generator. For making the great skill checks easier, this is where the other perks of the build come in…
Stake Out
Detective Tapp’s perk Stakeout turns good skill checks into great skill checks by using tokens gained by spending 15 seconds within the Killer’s terror radius without being chased. This is perfect for nailing those great skill checks needed for hyperfocus. Also, if you do manage to hit a real great skill check, it won’t use count as using one of your Stake Out tokens.
Fogwise
Vittorio’s perk Fogwise lets you see the killer’s aura every time you hit a great skill check on a generator. This is great since you’ll be hitting a lot of great skill checks with Stake Out! Using this perk will provide good information on the killer’s whereabouts so you know exactly when to hop off the generator if needed.
Autodidact
Adam’s perk Autodidact is not a very popular one but has a welcome place in this niche build. By hitting a good skill check, you gain tokens that grant you increased healing speeds up to 15%, although you start the match at -25%. Importantly, autodidact prevents great skill checks whilst healing survivors, so your hyperfocus tokens are not wasted on healing other survivors.
Overall, this build relies upon hitting those great skill checks but can be complicated especially for new players. So make sure to read the perk descriptions to ensure you are using the perks correctly.
The Solo Queue Build
If you are riding solo in the fog, you should come prepared with resources to see where your teammates are and rescue yourself if necessary. With this build, you don’t have to leave your fate up to the other survivors on whether you survive or not.
Windows of Opportunity
Kate’s Windows of Opportunity is one of the top 3 most played survivor perks. It allows you to see the auras of all pallets, windows and breakable walls within up to 32 metres. This allows you to see which pallets have been used by your fellow teammates, and lets you loop each tile more effectively.
Deliverance
Adam’s perk Deliverance is fantastic whilst playing alone, as it allows you to unhook yourself. This is activated once you unhook another survivor, and it’s perfect for situations where other survivors aren’t rescuing you.
Dead Hard
As mentioned in the Second Chance Build, Dead Hard is one of the best chase perk in Dead by Daylight. In solo queue, it is rare to have other survivors take hits for you, and so Dead Hard allows you to be more self-sufficient and extend the chase duration.
Bond
Dwight’s Bond is a crucial perk to allow you see the auras of other survivors within 36 metres of you. This helps you see which survivors are being chased near you, as well as seeing where generators are if the survivors are on them.
The Solo Queue Build has many forms, so you can swap out information and exhaustion perks to match your play style. For example, if you are doing an escape streak, maybe try Bill’s Left Behind to see the hatch’s aura.
The Boon Build
The Boon Build is great for teams that want to have one player devoted to setting up boons which can help survivors in a variety of ways. Importantly, it provides an anchor point of the map where survivors can run to if they need help. This survivor build only requires 3 perk slots so the last perk is highly flexible. We’d recommend an exhaustion perk like Dead Hard or Lithe that will support you in chase.
Boon: Circle of Healing
Mikaela’s Boon: Circle of Healing perk is one of the best healing perks in Dead By Daylight. Within 24 metres of a blessed totem, all survivors have the ability to self heal and all healing is 50% faster. This gives survivors a huge time advantage as well as a safe place to run to when you’re injured. You can only put up one boon at a time which means that they are easily replaced as long as there are totems that haven’t been cleansed.
Edit: In the upcoming Patch: 6.7.0, survivors will no longer be able to self-heal without a medkit within the boons radius. Instead, all injured survivors within the boon’s radius will have their auras revealed to other survivors.
Boon: Shadow Step
Another great boon to use is Mikaela’s Shadow Step which hides your aura and scratch marks from the killer whenever you are within it’s radius. This is perfect during a chase in order to lose the killer and with the stackable effect of Boon: Circle of Healing, you are then able to hide and heal quickly.
Detective’s Hunch
Finding totems can be a challenge, whenever you need them, they’re impossible to find. Using Detective Tapp’s perk Detective’s Hunch, you can see all generators, chests and totems within up to 64 metres when a generator is completed. This makes totem-finding easy as long as you’re paying attention.
These are our top 5 best survivor builds for Dead by Daylight in 2023. A lot of Dead by Daylight’s replay-ability comes from trying a variety of builds that give survivors a unique edge over the killer, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Whether you’re looking for speed, stealth, or objective-based builds, these offer a great starting point for players looking to up their game.
Ultimately, the best build for you will depend on your personal playstyle, so be sure to experiment with different builds and try playing around with a combination of these perks. Dead By Daylight is about having fun and trying exciting new builds. You don’t have to play the meta build every match to have a good time. With the right build, you can increase your chances of survival and ultimately escape!
Check out What’s Coming to Dead by Daylight in 2023.
